What's in a Name?
by Mardahin
Summary: Sequel to "Not Boyfriends". 'Wait, what exactly did you tell them about me' 'Oh, you know, the usual. Friend from high school, on the rugby team, boyfriend.' Cole/Cooper pairing from the film "Were the World Mine."


Author's Note: Written as a sequel to "Not Boyfriends," and is set within the same universe. Thanks again to my cheerleaders, plot-bouncers, and beta-types.

* * *

_Spring, 2009_

"Get up."

"What? It's barely even light out, leave me alone."

"It's after nine, and I'm the one who's got the keys for the Saturday morning practice."

"Good for you. I'll meet you for lunch."

There was a moment of silence, and for a brief, flickering instant, Cole thought he'd actually won the argument. Then the blanket vanished and was replaced by something cold and hard, and Cole was sitting up before he realized that it was just a can of pop from the fridge by the door. Cole grabbed the first thing he could find - a flashlight - and chucked it at his smirking friend. "Seriously, what the fuck?"

Cooper raised his hands in a pacifying gesture, good humor quickly replaced by concern. "Whoa, whoa. I'm sorry, man. You okay?"

Cole dropped down onto his back, reaching up to run a hand over his face as he tried to pull the world into coherent focus. "Yeah, fine." He yawned, rolling onto his side. "Awesome, even."

Cooper frowned, turning away to rifle through the pile of clean laundry in the corner of his room as they talked. "Obviously. So, how long has it been since you've slept more than three hours at a time?"

"Last night?" Cole shrugged one shoulder in response to the exasperated glance Cooper shot his way. "Fine, so it's been a few weeks. I don't see _you_ taking advanced mathematics classes."

"Fair enough." Whatever else Cooper said was lost as he pulled his rugby jersey over his head. "Just wanted you to meet some of the guys, maybe practice with us a few times since you got screwed out of tryouts by that sprain."

Cole winced, burying his head further into the pillow. Right, the sprain. It had happened three weeks _after_ rugby practices had started, but he'd never bothered to come clean with Cooper that he'd just opted not to join the team because he was sick of hurting _all the fucking time_. After taking a deep breath, Cole looked up to find Cooper standing over him, expression thoughtful. "You never tried out this year, either, did you? Why the hell didn't you just say something?"

Cole swallowed hard. "I wanted to, but I just _couldn't_ - not with three lab classes. I didn't have the time. And I didn't think you'd understand."

"Okay."

"So, you're not pissed?"

"Give me a few days." Any response Cole might have made was cut off by the beeping of Cooper's iPhone. "Right. Well, we've got a bye this week, so that means practice whether I want it or not. We run until 1. You feel up to it, walk on down and meet me by the field when we wrap up. You start hacking your lungs up due to stress, you know where the campus clinic is. Otherwise, I'll wake you up when I get back and we can go scavenging at the cafeteria. That suit your tastes, princess?"

Cole nodded, whatever response he had planned to make lost as he yawned again. He didn't even bother to take offense at Cooper's laughter as he disappeared out the door, just rolled over and dropped off within seconds.

^_^_^

Despite the complete legitimacy of his refusal to get out of bed at an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning, aided by the fact that Cooper knew and didn't care that Cole had opted out of college athletics, Cole's reprieve was short-lived. Less than an hour after Cooper had vanished for rugby practice - something that Cole didn't miss, despite the fact that everyone else from the Morgan Hill team was still playing and apparently loving it, a fact which had prompted the decision not to mention his own divergent actions - the kid next door decided that it was an essential human right to blast music loud enough to vibrate concrete.

Cole spent forty-five minutes tossing and turning, attempting to return to that lovely realm just past drowsy where one didn't dream so much as float, before giving up and crawling out of bed. It was clear that the universe was giving him a sign, much as he might want to ignore it. The only good thing was that at 11:15 on a Saturday morning, the showers in Cooper's dorm were reasonably empty. Nobody cared if he spent half an hour under the blissfully hot water "taking up space". He'd gotten into Evanston late, the night before, and Cooper had been hip-deep in a paper on Catherine the Great, so Cole had just stripped down to his boxers and crawled into Cooper's empty bed. He didn't even remember falling asleep, although he'd woken at some point in the night to find that Cooper had joined him (putting out a vaguely alarming number of BTUs, Cole noted absently). Cooper had a tendency to do that, seeking out touch for no other reason than just because someone else was _there_. Cole couldn't quite understand the behavior, but he didn't object to it, either. It was probably one of the reasons why, even two years after that first drunken encounter, the two of them still fell into bed with each other without the awkwardness that had come from Cole's other attempted couplings.

A glance at his watch reminded him that time was passing, and as good as the hot water felt, he couldn't stay there forever. He was awake, and (mostly) functional, so he might as well track down Cooper when his practice ended and insist that they go somewhere that had better options than stale salad and a row of not-quite-expired cereals. Nothing against the cafeterias at Northwestern, but end-of-term meant shoddy offerings no matter where you were, and he _wasn't_ still burning off cash on a meal plan. He took his time dressing, making sure to steal a can of pop while he tried to remember where he'd left his keys. After double-checking the location of the practice fields (and finding them exactly where Cooper had said they were the last time he'd invited Cole to stop in at practice and toss a ball around for old time's sake), he shoved his backpack into the corner next to Cooper's bed and headed out.

^_^_^

After two wrong turns (Cole wasn't bad with directions, he really wasn't. But somehow he ended up on the wrong side of Sheridan, which he didn't realize until he passed the chapel, so it took twice as long to get to the recreation field as it should have), he finally found the practice grounds. As he'd suspected, rugby practice did not appear to have changed much since he'd left the sport. Settling in to wait out the last thirty minutes of practice, Cole couldn't resist the urge to wolf-whistle when Cooper pulled off his shirt a few moments later (something which Cole could attest had nothing to do with his role as a spectator and everything to do with Cooper's tendency to overheat after more than forty-five minutes of physical activity when it was more than fifty degrees out). Cooper raised a hand to shade his eyes, looking around before settling his attention on Cole and waving cheerfully. Cole waved back, and was surprised when Cooper came jogging across the field to greet him.

"Hey."

"Hey." Cole shifted, suddenly feeling awkward as he noticed the rest of the team looking on in interest. Cooper seemed completely immune to their collective stares, a skill Cole had always envied.

"Feeling better?"

Cole nodded, sliding his hands into the back pockets of his jeans just to have something to do with them. "Yeah, thanks." He glanced over Cooper's shoulder, or rather around it, to get a better look at the rest of the players. "You should get back. I didn't want to interrupt, just let you know I was here."

Cooper shrugged, turning to check the state of his teammates. "You know how it is, by the end of practice nobody minds a break. Greg is perfectly capable of getting them back to work; that's what captains are _for_. Anyway, he said I should bring you around the next time you were in town."

"Yeah, well, still." Cole waved one of his hands vaguely. "I'm just going to sit down over here and play dead for a while."

"Cooper!"

"And that would be my cue." Cooper tossed his sweaty jersey at Cole, then turned and ran before Cole could retaliate. "Later!"

Cole couldn't hear what was said when Cooper rejoined the group, but he could guess. Whatever Cooper's explanation, it earned him a round of laughter and a slap on the back before they settled down to work again. Cole would admit that he missed the camaraderie of the game, but it wasn't enough to outweigh the physical toll it exacted - especially with the college team playing matches over both the fall and spring terms. Luckily, grad schools didn't care about athletics, or so he'd been told. That in mind, he settled on the grass with nothing more taxing in mind than finding shapes in the puffy white clouds overhead.

^_^_^

"Cole?"

Cole woke with a start, not having intended to actually fall asleep as he waited for practice to end. He sat up, blinking in the sunlight. "Mm-hmm?"

"You still up for lunch?" Cooper was standing over him, wearing jeans and a T-Shirt and obviously freshly showered.

Cole pulled himself to his feet using the hand Cooper offered. "Have you ever known me to turn down food?"

Cooper grinned. "Always a first time, I guess. Come on, a bunch of the guys are going out to the Chinese buffet. I'm buying."

"Now _that's_ an offer I can't refuse." He paused, squinting at his taller companion. Cooper did 'freakishly innocent' really well, something about how big his eyes got when he batted his lashes. "Wait, what exactly _did_ you tell them about me?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Friend from high school, on the rugby team, boyfriend."

Cole froze, expression bordering between disbelief and outright terror. "You _what_??"

Cooper burst into laughter. "Your face. Oh, God, Cole your _face_!"

Cole crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "Not. Fucking. Funny."

"Oh, come _on_, dude. It was fucking hilarious. It's not like they know your mom or anything. And the guys are pretty cool about that kind of thing, anyway." Cooper reached out and ruffled Cole's hair. "Or, wait, is this your legendary fear of commitment shining through? That's it, isn't it? You're just scared this means you have to actually put out."

"You want scared? I'll show you scared." Cole made a grab for Cooper's gym bag, just missing as the taller boy stepped out of reach. Before he could make another grab, Cooper was on the run, taking advantage of his too-long legs as he left Cole in the dust. As he chased after, Cole had to admit that there were worse things than having a friend who knew you too well. And, after all, he could always withhold sex. For whatever reason, Cooper never seemed to be dating anyone when Cole came through town, which meant that the threat held a lot more weight than it might otherwise.

^_^_^

Two years later, Cole again found himself camping out on the sidelines of a Northwestern rugby match, albeit this time it was not an in-house scrimmage, and he was far from the only spectator who had shown up. He cheered and booed with the rest of the crowd, and again took the opportunity to simply relax into the moment. As much of his life as he _could_ control at the moment was under control. He was officially done with Notre Dame, which meant no more outrageous tuition that his parents were helping to pay. He'd come out of the closet to his parents, even though he wasn't _completely_ sure he'd been all the way in one to begin with (there was always the possibility that Cooper was the aberration and not the norm, after all. It wasn't like he'd really had a chance to test the theory, because every time he happened to be in a potential dating scene he was with Cooper, and other guys always assumed they were a couple. He'd never managed to figure out why, but it made even attempting to date someone not-Cooper and not-female a pain in the ass).

Parents aside, when his sister had called him to wish him a Happy Birthday – something that happened rarely, if ever – he'd taken a deep breath and told her he might not be all that interested in girls. Given that she talked to their parents less than he did, a fact which had played greatly into his mother's 200 miles or else college restriction after Beth had run away to Mount Holyoke and never come home, it had seemed like a low-risk gamble. She'd gone silent for a long moment, and then asked why the fuck she should care what he did in bed. Beth might have ditched him when he was 12, but at least she could be counted on to understand what mattered and what didn't.

Now, Cole found himself killing time, sticking around Evanston until Cooper's graduation to avoid the coming confrontation with his parents. Good intentions or not, his mother was not the most accepting individual, and he was worried that things might be said which could not later be unsaid. He was leaving home, and to a degree leaving behind his family, but that didn't mean he wanted the parting to be on bad terms. Beth had done that, making his own life Hell in the process, though she couldn't have realized it at the time, and he could admit that while it was tempting, he wasn't ready to give up his family, either. It was one of the things that had made the decision whether or not to voice his emerging preferences all the more difficult. Once, back in high school in a fit of teenaged _something_, he'd informed his parents that he was in love with Cooper. To this day, he can't remember what he could have been thinking, but he remembered his mother's reaction with utmost clarity – she'd yelled and screamed, tears dripping down her face after she had realized that it wasn't a joke (and lectured him appropriately on poor taste). His father had been silent, expression distant as it often was at the rare family meals he made it home for.

A sharp whistle blast pulled him out of his thoughts, probably for the best, and when the applause and screaming started he realized that the match was over. It took a few moments, but Cole finally managed to find Cooper in the fray.

"Congratulations. Last match of the year, and you kicked the crap out of them."

Despite the forty pounds of muscle Cooper had packed on over the course of college, Cole couldn't help flashing back to the gangly eighteen year old he'd played with on the Morgan Hill team, especially when Cooper pulled out that little-boy grin. "We did, didn't we?"

Cole didn't bother shrugging off the arm that Cooper draped across his shoulders, even though it was far heavier than it really needed to be and Cooper was in desperate need of a shower. There was enough of a difference in their heights that it wasn't an awkward position, and Cole had spent four years living in a boys dorm – he'd smelled worse things than sweat and grass. Unlike previous games Cole had attended, however, this time when they reached the gym Cooper didn't release him and break off for the locker rooms. Instead, they walked right past the entrance, turning the corner to the wall that ran between the gym and a row of dorms. Cole opened his mouth, intending to ask if there'd been a change in plans, but never got the chance. The moment they passed into one of the more secluded alcoves, Cooper had him pressed up against the wall and was kissing him breathless.

After a moment's hesitation, Cole gave into the kiss, sliding his arms around Cooper's waist as he tried to pull him closer. This was the one thing that they hadn't ever been able to put down to just-fucking-around, which was one of the reasons they didn't do it unless they were drunk. Sex was one thing, even "actual sex," which happened much less frequently (and hadn't _that_ been an experience, the weekend they'd decided to try that one out), but kissing was too close to romance for either of their tastes. Kissing was for girls, and possibly for boyfriends – they were neither. It was times like this, pressed up against the side of a building with less than two coherent thoughts to rub between them as they shared each other's breath and grasped blindly for each other's skin, that reminded Cole of just why that fact was such a shame.

Cole could feel Cooper hard against his hip, but that didn't prepare him for the feel of Cooper's spandex-covered thigh as it pressed against his own erection. Cole broke the kiss, panting as his head fell back against the wall. This was a bad idea, for so many reasons, but he was having a hard time remembering what they were. After all, he was done with school. Nobody, or next to nobody, in Evanston knew who he was. Cooper had just played his final match on th rugby team. Cole knew there were reasons this was bad, but every time he tried to think of them Cooper would shift his weight and Cole's brain fled south at an alarming speed.

"Cooper? I need the keys for-" The brief interlude from reality ended fast enough to give Cole whiplash, with the appearance of one of the rugby players that Cole could (probably) recognize on a good day. "Oh. Um, I can come back."

"No, no." Cooper pushed away with a groan, muttering something under his breath that even Cole couldn't catch as he bent over and rummaged in his duffel bag until he found a set of keys. Standing, he tossed them at his teammate. "Here."

The player mumbled something that could possibly have been "thanks", but was gone before Cole could be sure. Cooper sighed, and leaned against the wall next to Cole.

"We definitely do _not_ need to talk about this."

Cole shook his head emphatically. "Nope, not at all."

"When we move up to Minnesota, we're not going to do this, right? You're going to date, I'm going to date, and we just won't bring people home. That sound okay with you?"

Cole swallowed hard, thinking it through. It certainly was one way to deal with the situation, and it would avoid the risk that they'd push a little too far one day and end up lovers. "Awesome. But, if we're not dating, do you mind if we still..."

"God, I hope so."

"Okay. Right, that's good." Cole glanced around, glad to see that no one else had come wandering by since the unfortunate rugby player. "Is there anywhere you need to be?"

Cooper shook his head. "Will's having a party tonight, end of season thing, but it's not starting up for a few hours. You want to walk back to my place so I can grab a shower, then we can decide when we want to move once my classes finish?"

Cole nodded, and reluctantly pushed himself away from the wall (and Cooper's body heat – it was surprisingly chilly in the shade, even in late May). "Shower, food, real life, then party. All that's missing is sex, and you'd have all the good things in life."

Cooper draped his arm across Cole's shoulders in the now-familiar motion. "Somehow, I think we can manage to fit that one in, too."

~ Finis ~


End file.
